2009 U-20 European Championship Review: GuardsSeptember 17, 2009Another French guard with a very important role on this finalist team was Thomas Heurtel. A quite solid ball handler with good passing skills, he was the one in charge of organizing things on offense and controlling the game’s rhythm. He has decent size for his position to go along with decent athleticism, quickness and overall speed. He also shows to be also a more than reasonable shooter, as he sports good range, nice lift and a pretty quick release, enabling him to create his own shot off the dribble too. Sometimes he tends to get carried away with his shot selection, in the many run and gun plays of his team. He can also slash to the basket, making use of a great cross-over to change his rhythm and surpass his defender. And last but not least he’s also very active defensively, intense and aware on the weak side to help.

In a couple of years he’ll probably be a member of the strong senior French National team too. He’s got many tools to become a very good player on the European scene, but may not possess the long-term upside for the NBA. [Read Full Article]